Farmers and traders themselves can now store a larger quantity of onions in a small space using this method, and the cost is also significantly lower. Although the exact figures for this newly introduced onion preservation method are not available at the Upazila Agriculture Office, government agricultural officials are visiting various districts to popularize it.
Talking to onion farmers and traders, it was learned that three to three and a half hundred maunds of onions can be stored in just 10 to 12 feet of space with an air flow machine. The electricity cost per maund per month is only one taka.
Liton Hossain Mondal of Nadpara village said that he initially tried to rent a platform (macha) around the Shailkupa market to store his onions. The house owners demanded Tk 15,000 to Tk 20,000 for renting a platform for one season for one hundred maunds of onions. Later, he found out that onions could be preserved with the help of an air blowing machine. These air flow machines are available in Faridpur. He contacted there and bought two machines for Tk 40,000. He is now storing onions in Shahi Masjidpara of the municipal area using these machines.
He stated that if this method becomes widespread, farmers and traders will see profits. He has stored six hundred maunds of onions using two machines, and the electricity cost is minimal. He pays an electricity bill of Tk 500 per month, he added. He further mentioned that there is no fear of spoilage in preserving onions with this method. The loss after preservation will be only two kg per maund at the end of the year, whereas storing onions on platforms carries the risk of spoilage, with a loss of more than 10 to 15 kg per maund. According to his knowledge, onions are being stored using this method in two other places in Shailkupa town.
Upazila Agriculture Officer Arifuzzaman said, "We did not have any modern method for preserving onions. With the air flow method, a large quantity of onions can be stored in a small space." He has heard that some people in Shailkupa have started preserving onions using this method. To popularize this method, officials from the Upazila Agriculture Department are visiting various districts including Pabna at government expense to show it to the farmers.
He informed that in the traditional method of onion preservation, there is a loss of 30 percent annually due to rot and drying. In the new method, the loss will be only 5 percent. If this method is implemented nationwide, import dependence will decrease.
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